Old 2025 Front Page News

Valérie André, the first woman to fly helicopter
rescue missions in combat, dies at 102

This is a condensed version of an article written by Phil Davison of the Washington Post. French army neurosurgeon and pilot known as “Mademoiselle Helicopter” flew more than 160 wounded men from battlefields in Indochina to hospitals in Hanoi. Valérie André, a French army captain, doctor, and helicopter pilot, stands in front of her helicopter in Tonkin, in northern Indochina, on July 30, 1952. (AJE/AP)

Valérie André, a French military officer, brain surgeon, and licensed pilot who was believed to be the first woman to fly helicopter rescue missions in combat zones — during the French-Indochina war of the early 1950s — and who two decades later became the first woman to reach the rank of general in the French armed forces, died Jan. 21 in Paris. She was 102.

Helicopters were still relatively new contraptions for widespread military use when France sent some in 1950 as air ambulances to support its troops in Indochina, the French colonial protectorate in Southeast Asia that included Vietnam. The French military was in a pitched battle against Vietnamese anti-colonial communists, including Ho Chi Minh.

She returned to France in 1950 to get a military pilot license to fly two- and three-seater helicopters and was back in Southeast Asia later that year. She flew a Hiller 360 that bore Red Cross markings. Because of the weight limit, she flew alone so she could strap a stretcher onto each skid. (It was to her advantage that she was petite and weighed less than 100 pounds.)

She flew over 120 chopper missions in Indochina, often landing on jungle airstrips or near rice paddies amid enemy fire. One French war correspondent in Hanoi who met her at an airport before she took off on a rescue mission described her as “small, very thin, with a magnificent mass of chestnut hair,” adding that she chain-smoked Camel cigarettes.

Local Vietnamese civilians, who had never seen a helicopter before, nicknamed her “The woman who comes down from the sky” or “Quekat”—Vietnamese for “Madame Ventilator” or cooler fan—because that’s what the chopper looked like to them.

Military records show she flew 168 wounded men from the battlefields to hospitals in Hanoi. Most were French soldiers, but there were also many enemy communist fighters — the Viet Minh — whom she insisted on taking if she had space. Ultimately, the French withdrew in 1954 after losing a 55-day battle at the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu.

“She was a one-woman MASH unit,” Jean Ross Howard Phelan, one of the earliest American women to receive helicopter accreditation, in 1954. After Indochina, where she earned the French Croix de Guerre, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, and the U.S. Legion of Merit, Gen. André served as a Sikorsky helicopter pilot in Algeria in the late 1950s.

A Nice history of the Huey

Stemmed from a Korean War era requirement for a medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) helicopter, the “Huey” family of helicopters saw action widely during the Vietnam War. In fact, the Huey is often referred to as a synonymous icon with the war in the southeast Asian country. The story of the UH-1 (and the AH-1 “HueyCobra”) is an interesting one that finds itself centered on the Vietnam War.

First generation helicopters were large, lumbering, cumbersome airframes that were described as “maintenance nightmares” full of complexities. The U.S. Army began to search for a design that was easier to maintain as a utility and multipurpose helicopter, specifically for the role of MEDEVAC and instrument training. The Army selected a design submitted by Bell Helicopter from a pool of 20 designs in February 1955. The following year, the prototype XH-40 made its first flight, but by this time the Army had already requested six more XH-40s to be built. Finally in 1960, the Army ordered 100 of the helicopters using the designation “HU-1.”

CASEVAC: How Will Drones Support
US Army Casualty Evacuations?

CASEVAC refers to transporting injured civil or military individuals from battlegrounds or fighting zones to medical or trauma centers so they can receive care, often in nonmedical vehicles or aircraft. CASEVAC refers to "Casualty Evacuations."

In contrast, MEDEVAC refers to "Medical Evacuation," which involves carefully transporting patients from an accident scene or another medical center to another facility using designed medical transport.

Russia's war on Ukraine has increased demand for unmanned systems, potentially accelerating the transition towards remotely piloted platforms for casualty evacuation. The Russian and Ukrainian militaries have experimented with these systems, making it difficult for traditional helicopters to carry out rescue missions. Experts predict a shift in unmanned platforms' roles in the future.

Autonomous technology is becoming more reliable every day. It performs repetitive tasks accurately and consistently, reducing human error. It also offers increased safety, performing long hover times and initiating independent holding cycles, allowing it to stay over a threat area or battlefield and quickly drop to the casualty when needed. Autonomous technology is becoming more reliable every day. It performs repetitive tasks accurately and consistently, reducing human error. It also offers increased safety, performing long hover times and initiating independent holding cycles, allowing it to stay over a threat area or battlefield and quickly drop to the casualty when needed. [Read more]

2025 Reunion Information

We're proud to announce the next reunion will be at the Holiday Inn Orlando Intl Airport Hotel.

DATES: Wednesday, April 23 - Sunday, April 27, 2025

ACCOMMODATION RATE: $119/night for either single King-size bed or Double Queen-size beds Includes complimentary daily parking. Discounted Breakfast Buffet Vouchers will be available for purchase by the group at $13.00 each. Rate is good 3 days before and 3 days after.

Complimentary Airport Shuttle 24/7.
Complimentary Shuttle within 3 miles of the hotel .

Pets are allowed with a pet fee.

HOSPITALITY ROOM: On-site, 9am-11pm daily; there is no cost for the Room, but we are required to pay for drinks and food. Snacks are allowed to be brought into the hospitality room.

BANQUET SATURDAY NIGHT: On-Site Buffet

Click HERE to read more details.

Time is Racing Toward the Reunion

My, my, how time does fly. It's under 50 days before the reunion kicks off in gorgeous Orlando, FL. We've got lots of folks registered for the reunion, but that's not the most important thing to do. You must first make hotel reservations so you get a room at our reunion special of $119/night. Then you can work on registering for the reunion, making car rental arrangements, etc. With the reunion being held this year in Orlando, FL, we couldn't have selected a better place. So, get your Cav-yellow butt in gear and reserve your room for the reunion.

Click HERE for more reunion information and to register online or by check.

CharityWatch

As the year whines down, I find I receive a lot of mail from organizations dealing with veterans and the military. I use CharityWatch to guide me in which organizations I write a check to.

Founded in 1992 as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP)—it is the only independent charity watchdog in the United States. Charity trade associations issue ratings of charities primarily designed to serve the interests of charities, not donors like you. They do this by repeating and/or repackaging charities' self-reported financial and "impact" data, amplifying charities' fundraising and marketing strategies. This can make it more difficult for donors to distinguish between good and bad charities.

CharityWatch's ratings do not merely repeat what a charity reports about itself in its "impact" reports or tax filings using simplistic or automated formulas. They dive deep into charity-audited financial statements, tax filings, state solicitation filings, and other information so they can let you know how efficiently a charity will use your donations to fund the programs you want to support. CharityWatch exposes nonprofit abuses and advocates for your interests as a donor.

This link takes you directly to veterans & military organizations. https://ww.charitywatch.org/charity-donating-articles/categories/veterans-military

2024 Association Reunion

I want to thank John Tabor and all the “helper bees” who put on a great reunion. At first, the challenges seemed insurmountable, but everything fell into place, and I had a fantastic time. The auction items were eclectic, and we reeled in $3200 to keep our Association solvent for another year. I’m looking forward to Short Round and Linn putting on a great reunion next year in Orlando, FL. I’ll update the times and the host hotel here and on Facebook as I receive them.